Sunday, February 3, 2013

Hi everyone! Hope the new year is going well for you! Baby Amelia has made her arrival - she was born on January 10th. She weighed a whopping 5 lbs and 1 oz. We knew she would be little and were happy that she was that big. Here she is fresh out of the oven! She was so alert when she was born:

Proud Momma:

Here is a picture from Miss Amelia's first photo shoot:

She's a very good baby. She was a bit jaundiced when she was born and I had to change her formula because of an upset tummy, but besides that she's been the perfect baby. She's up to 5 lbs and 12 oz and eats like a little pig. Believe it or not, my crafty mojo has returned since having the baby. I even made two cards yesterday, gasp. First up is a card I made for Mojo Monday and The Play Date Café Challenge:

Here's my card:

Up next is a card I created for Case Study 126. Here is this week's muse:

And here is my card:

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That's all the craftiness for now. Amelia is waking up and it's dinner time for her. Enjoy!!!

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy 2013 crafty friends! Oh 2012 has been like a whirlwind...don't even know how to describe it! Things were going as usual till May and then this little peanut showed up:

It was just so unexpected. We had tried for 6 years and MANY fertility treatments over the years and nothing worked. I'm now 36 weeks and 2 days. Here's one of my preggo pictures:

Amelia Grace is due on January 27th, but I'm doubting I'll make it that long. Here's the story of my pregnancy.....MORNING SICKNESS. My weight dropped to double digits, couldn't keep anything down, IVF's were the story of my life. That cleared by September - 20 to 24 weeks of constant sickness and not eating - and the heart palpitations started. After trips to the ER, heart monitor, and heart medication that cleared up (caused by the increased blood volume due to pregnancy). The last month has been complete bed rest. The original reason was because I wasn't gaining enough weight and my OB/GYN wants me to get every calorie I can and make sure I don't burn off any weight. Then 2 weeks ago I start contracting and go into preterm labor - was on a magnesium drip that was TERRIBLE (if anyone has been on the stuff - they know). Miss Amelia was determined to be early and my contractions were 1 minute apart. Finally got enough medication to knock the contractions, but now I have to take meds every 4 hours to keep from going into labor and can only go to the bathroom and back. God says he won't put more on us than we can handle and I truly believe that with all my heart, but these 9 months have definitely tested me. It will be so worth it when I see Amelia and despite all the health scares I am still so thankful that God has given me these experiences. I think I was so focused on getting pregnant that I never considered it may be hard. And I've had to eat crow. When I heard a pregnant woman complain before I got pregnant I always thought "why are they complaining, I can't even get pregnant." I now have EMPATHY! Lesson learned. Life is really amazing, just when you think you've got it figured out God throws you a curve ball and you've got to figure it out all over again.

My craft life has been on hold for months and I have NO interest in reading - my 2 biggest loves. I do want to share my favorite card from 2012....crafted earlier this year when I had no clue what was waiting around the corner:

The sentiment is so fitting for 2012 - I am truly counting my blessings! Fingers crossed the craft bug will hit me again when my bundle of joy arrives. Gotta scrapbook every moment of Amelia's life so I've got to get to work. I have found a few new addictions, especially since I've been on bed rest. I am so addicted to The Food Network and it's worse now than ever, can't get enough of it. I LOVE The Pioneer Woman. Been pouring over her cookbooks, website, and cooking show. And last but not least, Pinterest. Organizing my boards and finding great crafty ideas (that I have no interest in creating) has been something else to keep me busy.

And who can forget "why" I'm the Country Scrapper....the farm:

Thank goodness for my Hubby and Father In-Law. They have done a wonderful job tending to the sick, giving me updates, and being the best farm hands possible this year. I have lost several dear chickens this year and a beloved goat, but gained many new chickens that spice up the barn yard. We were blessed to have abundant gardens and hay crops despite the drought. And we have a new pasture that Hubby and FIL fenced that give my horses, donkeys, and goats many more acres to roam and pick. It's something they had wanted to do for years and finally got it done.

So that was my year in review. Hoping 2013 is full of blessings and love and many more stories from my slice of Heaven on a little farm in the Appalachian Mountains. Plus a certain little girl should make everything more interesting this upcoming year!